On June 6, 1862, Matsudaira Yoshinaga convened his first assessment meeting of the old and middle schools after he took office as the "Great Elder".

Originally, this issue was how to respond to the will of the small imperial court, and Shimazu Saibin accompanied the envoy Ohara Shigetoku to arrive in Edo soon.

But as he spoke, the building was crooked.

In fact, it's not crooked, although everyone looks down on the ministers, thinking that they will only talk on paper, but people don't do practical things and have no baggage, so this tone is high, so it suddenly stabbed the key point of the shogunate.

In particular, the second article in the edict, "It is advisable to choose the five major feudal domains as the five major bosses in accordance with the Toyotomi Taihe canon, in order to consult the national government", this trick is powerful, it is obviously a plan to sow discord, but there is no wind and no waves, this provocation is a great foundation, so a bad response, this shogunate system headed by the shogunate, can be divided.

Why?

Although the edict did not name who the five feudal domains were, the shogunate's Daimu Fu said:

"According to reliable sources, the imperial court belonged to the five families of Ida, Shimazu, Yamauchi, Maeda, and Mori."

These five daimyo are remarkable, and the combined territory is 3 million koku, but including the Kaga Maeda family, which is regarded as a member of the Tokugawa family, is actually the same as the roots.

"This kind of foreign daimyo is naturally unreliable at a critical juncture" - this statement comes from the shogunate's pro-feudal domain, pedigree daimyo and direct minister banner.

Of course it's unreliable, it's hell to be able to rely on, you are so desperate to squeeze people, how can you drop, and you can't resist!

The Tokugawa shogunate's shogunate system was that the imperial family entrusted the government to the shogunate, and then the shogunate unified the feudal domains to govern Fuso.

But how big is the cake, it is naturally different from inside and outside, and there is a degree of intimacy, this shogunate, pro-domain, genealogy daimyo and direct minister banner took away the benefits first, this kind of foreign daimyo, hardship first, as for enjoyment, who allowed you to enjoy?

When the Tokugawa family opened, it was only because he didn't sweep away all the appearances, not because he didn't want to, but because his strength didn't allow it:

According to the statistics of later generations, seventy percent of Fusang is mountainous, and this traffic is simply good, so you can just serve it, I really want to kill it all, hehe, I have to drill deep into the mountains and old forests to suppress bandits in those lifetimes, who can stand it.

Besides, the rabbit is in a hurry and bites, the Tokugawa family was strong at the time, but to say that one picks everything, it is too much to think about.

After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, it was a hollow mind to toss the outside, but later, one was that the other party resisted fiercely, and the other one, during the Xiaoice River period and the continuous Fuso earthquake, the shogunate was not lightly tossed, and the relatives and genealogies who were separated from each other gradually became weak, so this mind slowly faded, and it was not fragrant to live a good life.

But even so, the life of the daimyo was not much better, and the shogunate, as the head of the samurai family for the ruling government, naturally had no shortage of means, and the donations for the New Year's holidays were trivial, and the four major burdens of each domain were the pilgrimage confession, military service, and the monopoly of the shogunate:

The Hajj was a biennial pilgrimage to Edo for each feudal clan – with a few exceptions, not all of them;

Auxiliary military service was free for the shogunate to let the princes send troops to help;

The shogunate asked each family to bring their own dry food and dry projects, and the materials were all from each domain, and the shogunate only symbolically produced a little, and sometimes even a dime;

As for the Zhuzhongma franchise, the shogunate forbade direct trade between the feudal domains, and if you wanted to trade, you could only do so through traders in the big shogunate cities such as Edo, Osaka, Nagasaki, and Kyoto.

In addition to these, the shogunate also monopolized minerals such as gold, silver, and copper, and as soon as it was found that the scale was larger, Edo ordered the shogunate to be confiscated, and the appearance was extremely ugly.

Of course, in addition to the various benefits enjoyed by the shogunate, it also had a certain responsibility, such as helping each family to stabilize its internal situation, preventing it from being oppressed by its powerful neighbors, or providing subsidies and even materials and loans when it was in financial difficulties.

But the problem is that because the shogunate is counting on the presiding

To be fair, this small feudal clan is good for the centripetal force of the shogunate; However, daimyo such as Date, Shimazu, Yamauchi, Maeda, and Mori are the only ones who bully their neighbors, and it is difficult to apply for subsidies and loans because of the huge amount.

In the past, it was better for the authority of the shogunate to be stable, after all, the big fist was the truth, and with the marriage of the Tokugawa family, black hat relatives and other means of envelopment, these external princes were quite obedient.

But now, Edo is looking for the Kyoto Gongwu to merge, and everyone can see the ups and downs of the shogunate, so the edict requires the establishment of the five big guys, so if you provoke it, the shogunate will be in power;

Ignore it, isn't this sending strength to the imperial court, don't push;

really agreed, which made the small court earn a favor, not to mention, what is even worse is that when this power is in hand, the five princes have eaten the first bite of blood, so can they still have the same heart with the shogunate in the future? I'm looking at it.

Therefore, now at this appraisal meeting, there are one elder, six elders, and three big eyes, and most of them have a special headache about this matter.

But there are exceptions to everything, and the elder Matsudaira Yoshinaga thinks it's very simple:

"It's easy. I have a plan, fame and fortune cannot be both, it depends on how the five princes choose. ”

As soon as this remark came out, everyone was shocked, no, you have a way, deceive people.

But if someone can be the head of the shogunate, they must not talk nonsense, so everyone will be suspicious and wait for the following.

But Qingyong saw that everyone's appetite was aroused, but he was not in a hurry, and began to say irrelevant words:

"Actually, some people see the needle, which comes from 'the wind may not be without a cause'. So, as long as the root of the problem is eliminated, this problem will be solved. ”

What are you talking about, aren't you kidding me?

Everyone said in their hearts that the source of this problem was that the small court provoked it, and the princes were restless outside, and in the final analysis, it was because the people were not able to make a living after foreign trade, and the shogunate, the leading brother, had no prestige in the past.

Can you fix it?

Qingyong smiled slightly, showing that he was confident, but he changed his tone and gently and skillfully pulled the topic back again:

"Consolidating the foundation and cultivating the yuan is not a day's work, and it can be discussed later.

Today's words, the court presets the five bigwigs, but they are just trying to win people's hearts; And what you are worried about is just the five big guys gaining power.

But if we take action to alleviate it in advance, set up three big guys, seven big guys or something, and ensure that the authority is not lost, won't this edict be empty with one punch? ”

To put it lightly, you have set up a big guy and have no real power, are you stupid?

Now this small court can stir up the wind and rain, and it is not the tail of your Qi Zhao family of kings, this has great righteousness and fame, and you have a sharp sword to kill yourself, Qingyong, you call yourself a virtuous marquis, but this level is really not good.

Just when everyone was slandering, the old man who was originally in the shape of a mud fetus wooden statue jumped out and shouted:

"Wonderful, this plan is very wonderful, there are winners, official parties, foreign royal parties, what's the harm in setting up a new name? When the time comes, it will inevitably be another scene. ”

All of you here are smart people, and everyone knows what they mean by these words:

This strategy is too damaging, according to the meaning of Jiushi, it is to set up a few more "big guys" or something, and then push the problem over, and if you can't solve it within a time limit, the court's sowing discord will become a disaster for the shogunate.

At that time, if the problem can be solved, it will be the openness of the shogunate; If it can't be solved, it must be the pot of the imperial court - who made the order, now something has happened.

Thinking of this section, everyone applauded their hands, although this is just their own plan, and in the end it may not be as people wish, but the ruling is like this, and it is much better than a blunt refusal - that is, the name "big guy".

The head is not good-sounding, and if it is replaced by "old middle grid", it will be much easier to accept.

Moreover, after this incident, many of you are relieved:

Although this old man seems to have taken refuge in Qingyong, this is nothing compared to Qingyong's lack of a heart with the imperial court.

Qingyong's efforts to deal with the edict show that he really has no intention of setting up another stove.

Those here, except for Qingyong, are either pro-feudal and genealogical daimyo or shogunate banners, and it would be a lie to say that they are not worried that Qi Zhao and his family are making trouble by combining public and military forces.

Everyone is sitting in the position of the shogunate, even if they get closer to the small court, can they be stronger than they are now?

It's impossible, so no matter what tricks the Gongwu combination plays, it will have to be the Edo side.

So Qingyong's performance and position today made everyone very satisfied - no matter how many factions there are, they can't smash the pot for eating, isn't that reasonable.

Seeing that the atmosphere of mutual vigilance had eased, Qingyong added some thoughts:

It turned out that he said that "fame and fortune cannot be both", and he was prepared.

This is a fool's eye, and a few more "big guys" is to say, Qingyong actually wants to pull more princes, set up more "royal hangings", and give some "old middle grids" and "if you send a grid" hat, anyway, it doesn't cost money.

At that time, the construction of coastal defense, stable prices, and even a certain part of the production industry can be thrown out, anyway, in the end, the shogunate center will support it, and he is not afraid of turning the sky upside down - Qingyong said that these "royal hangings", only the right to suggest and no decision, if you want to push anything, that is, you think too much, at most in your own territory, force others, that is not a drop.

If it can be done, this will solve the problem, and the shogunate will also be the biggest beneficiary; If it doesn't work, then the responsibility is not the shogunate's, and the government and the opposition will not be so unfavorable today - of course, it can be the best.

And this big guy is not in one step, so why wait for something to be done.

At that time, there will be such a large number of "old middle grids" and "if you want to select the big guys", there will definitely be internal disputes, so even if some princes eventually become big bosses, there must be a lot of enemies erected, and the shogunate is just in it.

Wouldn't it be good to take a step back and successfully delay the big guy until a few years later.

Moreover, this wants to be a big man.,It's impossible to say that you don't contribute money or effort.,It used to be the shogunate's collection (looting),Now it's your own willing.,It's always a shame on the shogunate.。

If things are slow, everyone here understands, and those who have strength have privileges, this hard pressure can't be suppressed, so it is natural to take a step back, so everyone thinks Qingyong's words are quite reasonable.

And if you think about it, you think that the edict can only be dealt with in this way, and the hard top is rough, and there is no beauty at all.

Moreover, after careful consideration, according to Qingyong's plan, the final position of this "big man" may not necessarily fall into the hands of foreign daimyos, and there is also a chance for relatives and genealogies.

As for worrying about someone getting bigger during the period, I believe that as long as you draw a circle in advance and mix more sand, it will not be so easy to make it bigger - in the final analysis, it is the shogunate itself that can't do it, and it may not be a good thing to avoid it now.

However, even if most people agree in their hearts, this time Qingyong will not be able to pass the test so easily, in case it becomes the model of Da Lao Jingyi again, he can decide what he wants, and it will be completely bad.

Therefore, some people are ready to jump out and pick thorns, this is very beautiful, in case it gets out of control, what if this power can't be recovered?

However, before others could make a move, Lao Zhongjiushi jumped out first:

"Lieutenant General Zuo Konoweiquan, if these five bigwigs are done like this, the Daimyo will be widely involved in the shogunate, so what I said before, do you think you can discuss it today."

As soon as I heard this, everyone was in good spirits, this picky thorn or something, not in a hurry, the days are still long, but it can't afford to wait for this thing that has been said for a long time.